Takashi Iizuka: SA2 About Creating 'Tempo'

Sonic Team director Takashi Iizuka has outlined the concept of Sonic Adventure 2 in a recent interview, saying that the game is not just about going fast but also finding a 'tempo' for the action that flows well with players.

When asked of the improvements made to the game over its predecessor, Sonic Adventure, Iizuka laughed and said, "There are so many, it's pretty hard to answer that. Obviously we wanted to make Sonic Adventure 2 run at 60 frames per second and design the stages so that when you play the game, you feel like you're going a lot faster.

"And then, the two-player versus modes was the next big benchmark after we established the 60 frames per second.

"For the future of Sonic's actions... instead of blazingly running through a stage, we've given him more actions so he's not just constantly running. So he'll run, he'll grind on a rail, then he'll spin dash into an obstacle, etc. It's not just about running fast; we wanted to create a "tempo" for the action."

Iizuka also revealed that Dreamcast players will be able to upload their ranking and scores for stages on a worldwide network, so you can compete with others online.

Source: IGN